Debra Soria snatched up her son and charged into a crowd of children playing in a Denver City Park fountain on a record- breaking hot Saturday afternoon, meeting jets of cool water with screams and laughter.
“We don’t have any air conditioners,” a soaked and smiling Soria said, “so we come here.”
The Commerce City family has made a habit of visiting the water jets on days it’s too hot to stay home. Saturday certainly qualified.
Temperatures in Denver reached 101 degrees, topping a 1902 record of 100 and emptying shadeless areas.
The rest of the week might not be much cooler.
Denver won’t be out of the 90- to 100-degree range until Saturday, according to the National Weather Service.
This spike in temperatures comes just a week after Denver saw a record low daily high temperature – 62 degrees on July 9, tying an 1889 record, the Weather Service said.
But on Saturday, cold seemed to exist only in memories and desserts.
Outside the Bonnie Brae Ice Cream Shop on University Boulevard, hot residents crammed every shaded bench to scarf their frozen treats.
They agreed ice cream helps on scorchers like these.
“It’s essential, actually,” said Teresa Lawlor, 41, gripping a waffle cone capped with a generous double scoop of chocolate. The Conifer resident’s twin 2-year-old sons whittled away at scoops of their own, smearing sticky chocolate on their faces, clothes and legs.
“It’s hot – really hot,” she said. “And the kids are not used to this.”
The heat didn’t pose any problems for Xcel Energy, spokeswoman Ethnie Groves said. Energy usage was typical for a summer weekend, she said.
Power went out for a couple of hours at the Museum of Nature & Science, the site of the Body Worlds 2 exhibit, but its causes were mechanical.
Groves encouraged people to keep cool while conserving energy by keeping doors and windows shut, refraining from using conventional ovens and stoves and setting thermostats at 78 degrees.
In a nearly empty Washington Park, a group of men played basketball, ignoring the temperatures.
“It rained all last week,” said 24-year-old Rick Whitley. “We didn’t get to play.”
The men emptied jugs of water over their heads when they took a break, and said that when it gets too hot, their opponents sometimes end up walking away.
But Denver resident Ray Osaka stays.
“I love basketball, man, no matter how hot it is,” the 30-year-old said. “We’ve played a lot hotter than this.”
He added: “But this heat is just excruciating. It’s a good day to be in a pool, is what it is.”
Staff writer Brandon Lowrey can be reached at 303-820-1201 or blowrey@denverpost.com.
